Mannequin
by FieldOfPaperFlowers
Summary: Jason has second thoughts about Piper, but he doesn't realize just how much he doesn't know about Reyna. Lighthearted Leyna! T for brief, minor swearing. Oneshot. Written before HoH.


_A/N: Quickly written. Actually, I haven't written fanfiction for, what, 3 years? Something like that. Gah. Anyways, I apologize for this. I needed to write some fluffy Leyna, and this plot bunny overwhelmed my sensibilities. I really like the idea of Reyna finding dumb pick-up lines hilarious. (Food-related ones because, hello, jellybeans and hot chocolate.) Also, Jason's lack of the ability to commit bothers me. He could disappear and I wouldn't notice._

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HoO because I am not a married older man living in Texas._

* * *

After the war with Gaea ended, all that was left to work on was the Greek-Roman tensions. So groups of demigods from each camp went to visit the other—for weeks, or months, however long they wanted—in the hopes of making friends, or at least not enemies. The seven heroes of the prophecy, including Jason, spent their time about fifty-fifty between the two camps, generally speaking, and they tended to travel together, between _and_ within camps. In pairs, of course—Jason and Piper, Percy and Annabeth, Frank and Hazel. The only exception was Leo, who tagged along with any of his friends but never really settled down anywhere. Jason liked having him around but found he didn't really notice when he was gone. Plus, okay, it was nice to have some time alone with Piper every so often. Three was definitely a crowd then.

It was during one of these Times Alone With Piper, when Jason and Piper were walking around New Rome, not really talking but just enjoying each other's presence, that the two of them passed Reyna on a morning run with her dogs. The other praetor was out of her armor and cape and instead wore only a T-shirt and shorts, soaked through with sweat. Jason found himself watching her approach, and it wasn't until she was almost upon them that she looked up, iPod headphones swinging from her ears. She stumbled, which was unlike her, but she gathered herself, moved onto the grass, and kept going. Jason didn't realize he had turned to watch her go until Piper's grip on his arm tightened, and the daughter of Aphrodite tugged him forward, back into his walk with her, back into the present.

"She's very diligent," said Piper, though Jason didn't catch the meaning behind the tightness in her voice.

"She used to run with the dogs every morning from seven to eight," he said thoughtlessly. The memory just spilled out of him. He had most of his memories back now, and it was so invigorating that sometimes he would voice a memory, just to revel in remembering it, regardless of how welcome it was.

He realized too late that this was one of the times when it wasn't welcome. Piper's mouth was set in a scowl, even though she tried to look neutral. "You and Reyna used to be close," she said. She knew only this—none of the details. Jason had been hoping to keep it that way.

"Um," he said cleverly. "Well, we worked together as praetors. There was never—we were never, you know, _together_." This was as close to a lie as the truth could come. No, he and Reyna had never been an official couple. But you spend that much time with one person . . . He had been interested. He knew she had been, too. And if he hadn't been uprooted by Hera, there was more than a decent chance they would have become official. He had chosen Piper, but the possibility of Reyna was a very hard thing to forget.

Piper, unfortunately, seemed to understand that. She didn't let go of his arm, but she looked away into the grass, and they didn't speak for the rest of the walk. Jason wanted to kick himself. He dropped her off at the Third Cohort, where she was staying, and she didn't so much as look back. He hoped this was a temporary upset, but with girls he could never really be sure. He would give her some time to cool off and then apologize.

But what was he apologizing for? Jason kicked at a stone on the path as he headed down the Via Praetoria toward the outdoor café. Caffeine was suddenly sounding great. _Happy morning, self,_ he thought.

Jason greeted the waitress on duty and ordered his usual, a triple shot of espresso with milk. Nice and bitter, no chocolate to dull the taste. He passed the girl his money, thanked her as she handed him his coffee, and plunked himself down at a small corner table to drink it alone in more sullen silence.

He wasn't alone for long, though. Bouncing through the door came Frank and Hazel, with Leo on their tail. They seemed to be having a great time, but Jason noticed that once they got their coffee, Frank and Hazel left again and Leo stayed. The son of Hephaestus looked lost for half a second, but then he caught sight of Jason and joined him with a grin.

"You don't need that," Jason said.

"Maybe not," Leo allowed, but he took a swig from his extra-large coffee anyway. Jason could practically see him start to jitter. He must have been working recently, because he reeked of sweat and oil. Jason did have to admit that, for all the joking around, the shorter guy did have a great work ethic.

"How's your beauty queen on this lovely morning?" Leo asked, drumming the fingers of his free hand against the tabletop.

"Mad at me," Jason groaned, taking a drink himself as if that would make it go away.

"What about?"

He grimaced. "She kind of figured out about Reyna."

Leo screwed up his face in an overdramatic Confused expression. "You and Reyna were never a thing, though."

"We were kind of a thing," Jason admitted.

"Oh."

"Yeah. It was just never title-official Girlfriend Boyfriend Dating."

"Well, you're dating Piper now," Leo said like this solved everything. "Choice made. Just don't bring it up again." He took a self-congratulatory sip.

Jason drank deeply from his coffee.

Leo stared at him. "Dude, are you _serious_? You're having second thoughts _now_?" He plunked his cup on the table like he was personally offended.

"I don't know if I would call them second thoughts," the son of Jupiter offered. "It's just that we happened to pass Reyna while she was running, and it kind of made me think, you know . . ."

"Oh my gods," Leo groaned, downing half his cup before he came up with anything positive to say. "Not a good thing, man. Not a good thing."

"Don't you think I know that?" Jason finished his cup of coffee, sad to see it gone, and started to spin it in place so he wouldn't have to get up to throw it away. "Piper's going to kill me. It's just, man, I remember being with Reyna, and it was—"

"A hot chocolate, please."

Jason's head jerked up at the female voice. Reyna stood by the waitress, holding up three fingers. Her hair was wet and freshly braided; Jason tried not to think about her being freshly showered.

"Three marshmallows it is," the waitress echoed, her tone carefully neutral like she knew something bad would go down if she commented on the praetor's order.

Reyna's cup was ready in a moment, and she almost walked by the two guys before she noticed them. "Leo," she greeted him, sounding surprised but not altogether displeased. Her tone became distinctly chillier when she said, "Jason."

"Hey," Jason said, giving an awkward wave.

"_Buenos días, reina_," Leo grinned, motioning with his coffee cup like he was toasting her.

Reyna's expression didn't move, but she looked them both over with something between amusement and condescension. "Good morning," she said flatly, nodding once, and then she took her hot chocolate and left.

"Well," Leo said, turning back to Jason. "I'm getting the impression she's not exactly feeling you anymore."

Jason shook his head. "No way. Before—"

"Before you showed up with a new lady on your arm?" Leo clarified.

"Okay, yeah. But even then, she was definitely still interested." Jason knew this partially (mostly) because Annabeth had taken to glaring at him whenever he made a move on Piper in front of Reyna. He wasn't a total idiot.

"Look, man, I'm just saying, it didn't work out the first time—"

"Doesn't mean it couldn't work out this time!"

"Make up your mind!" Leo snapped, an uncharacteristic display of bad temper. "You've already got Piper. Either you like her or you don't. You don't have to involve Reyna in it."

Words left a surprised Jason. To gain a moment, he tossed his cup into the trash can, lifting it on the wind when it almost didn't make it, but Leo was pushing his chair away from the table.

"Sorry, man," the Latino guy said, rubbing his neck. "Just . . . figure it out, okay? I gotta get back to work." He took the rest of his coffee with him, heading gods knew where, and Jason was left alone again. He got up too, wishing he had something to do. Not knowing how else to occupy himself on a weekend morning, he headed for the Principia. Maybe there were some praetorly duties he could get out of the way. And, bonus, he might run into Reyna.

* * *

Jason didn't run into Reyna, although he did have the dubious honor of reading a lot of hate mail from his Romans. He gave up midafternoon and left, wondering how many cups of coffee he could drink before he died of a heart attack. His theory was five, given that they were all his usual. Before he could test it out, though, he heard one of the automaton dogs barking at something. He followed the noise around the corner into the back porch of the Principia, but he heard the dog's companions before he saw them.

"Yeah, that should do it." Leo's voice was unmistakable, especially coupled with the ringing of tools on metal. "If he starts to drip oil again, let me know."

"Thanks, Valdez." Reyna's voice. Jason thought he heard her clicking her nails on the dog, but she didn't seem to be rushing the mechanic out. "They seem to like you. Heaven knows if I know why."

"Aw, come on, Rey-Rey, nobody can resist my awesome!" Leo said brightly.

"Right," she said, and Jason was surprised to hear . . . almost laughter in her voice. "Tell your awesome that your hair is on fire."

Leo patted out the minor flames, but he seemed unfazed by it. Did _anything_ bother him? "Minor side effects. Anyway, you probably shouldn't run with this guy for a day or two, just to make sure everything's clicked back into place."

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine."

"Really," Leo said, sounding bemused. "I was expecting to have to get a formal order written or something."

"I can run with Argentum," she said like it was obvious. "Or by myself if I have to. That's probably what'll end up happening." There was something behind that last part—like being by herself was something she was unfortunately used to—but Jason wasn't sure why. She had always been fine by herself. Besides, she technically had two other praetors around now if she needed them.

"I would offer to run with you, but running isn't my strong suit. Well, maybe if I built a . . ." Leo's voice trailed off into engineer-ish mutterings.

"It wasn't an invitation," Reyna said.

"Sure, it wasn't," he echoed. "But who would keep the adoring masses away if you didn't have two dogs with sharp teeth around?"

"Well, I am pretty fabulous," she said in a deadpan tone. It took Jason a moment to realize she was kidding, but Leo was keeled over in laughter by then.

"I know, _mi reina_," the mechanic gasped, laughing so hard Jason thought his face might split. "I know. And see, I told you joking is fun."

"I never joke."

"See, now, that was another joke." Leo grinned blindingly. "I am such a good teacher."

"You're something, all right," Reyna said, rolling her eyes. "Go fix a table or something. _Dios mio_." She patted Aurum on the head and left Leo standing there, hands on his tool belt and a strangely dreamy expression on his face.

Jason didn't come out until he knew Reyna was gone, but then he called out, "_Valdez_!"

Leo looked over in surprise. "Hey, man. What's up?"

Jason shoved him backward. "What's _up_? Did you absorb anything we were talking about earlier, or are you just that big of an ass?"

The shorter guy flailed and regained his balance, but he seemed determined. "I told you, she's not interested in you."

"You know that for a fact?"

"Yeah!" His confidence faltered, but something in him must have thought it might be true, because he didn't back down.

Jason glowered. "You're such a _catamitus_. You're so desperate for a woman to like you—"

Leo's hands burst into flames. "Shut up," he growled. "Have you ever even seen her laugh?"

"You just want someone to show off. Get a mannequin instead, save yourself the effort!"

The fire licked up his arms as he shoved the son of Jupiter. "_Pudrete en el infierno_," he swore. "You have no idea!"

Jason ignored his singed shirt. "I bet you anything," he said, a sort of smug danger in his tone, "she'll just be thinking of me."

Leo looked like he wanted nothing more than to see Jason's head on a pike. "See you in hell," he said, cold despite the fire in his hands. He left. Jason swore at his back and pulled off his burnt purple shirt.

* * *

By the grace of the gods, Jason didn't have to interact with anyone else until dinner, and even then he stayed in basically the same spot. A couple times he caught Piper's eye, but she only swallowed hard and looked away. He must have been emanating a Do Not Disturb aura, because the only person who tried to talk to him was Don the Faun. Jason left soon afterward.

He told himself that he was just going to walk around while it was still light out, but he knew he was lying to himself. He wanted to see Reyna, and hear from her once and for all whether they had a chance together. And almost as important, if Leo had a chance. He seriously doubted it. A jokester repair boy, really? Reyna had always been about her work, serious and level-headed, and in his experience she neither needed nor wanted distraction. You just had to look at her past interests, Percy and Jason himself, to see she wanted someone serious in return.

But as the Fates would have it, he saw her from far off, behind a shop with Leo. The two of them weren't exactly sneaking, but no one else was around. He wondered how close he could get before they saw him—based on past experience, probably pretty close.

They each had a cup of ice cream in their hands (at least he assumed Reyna's had ice cream in it, though all he could see was jelly beans and sprinkles and gummy bears). Leo leaned against the wall of a scribe's shop, and Reyna stood across from him, her back against an armor shop. Her own armor was gone, Jason noticed. She wore a thin T-shirt and jeans. Clearly she wasn't planning on visiting her adoring masses right now. Actually, Jason wasn't sure what they were doing. Ice cream could be eaten in the mess hall. He strained to hear their conversation.

"Have you been eating Lucky Charms?" Leo asked her, shaking his hair. "Because you're looking magically delicious."

The corners of Reyna's mouth twitched, but she didn't laugh. "Heard it."

"Aw, I like that one. Okay, how about, 'You must be from Starbucks, because I like you a latte.'"

Reyna snorted.

"Baby, if you were a burger at McDonald's, you would be the McGorgeous."

She stuck a spoonful of candied-up ice cream in her mouth then, but it just barely smothered a giggle.

"How can you like that one but not the Lucky Charms one?" he demanded.

"I uuh noo," she said through her ice cream, which made her laugh again. Leo grinned and ate a huge chunk of his own.

"Mmkay," he said through the dessert before he swallowed. "Is your body from McDonald's? 'Cause I'm lovin' it."

"You can't use two McDonald's lines in a row!" Reyna protested.

"There isn't a rule against it!"

"It's the McDonald's rule," she said, straight-faced, and he looked like he believed her for the moment before she snickered. "Try again."

"Is your name fajita? Because you're _sizzlin'_," he said with a grin, sashaying his hips in a very overdone way.

Reyna swatted at him.

"I'd take you to the bakery, but there's nothing sweeter than you."

"Right." She took another bite of candy and ice cream.

"You make me melt like hot fudge on a sundae."

She giggled through her ice cream again, her hand over her mouth, but Jason could have sworn she saw her blush.

"Do you like strawberries or blueberries? I need to know what kind of pancakes to make you in the morning."

She laughed a little at that one, but her blush darkened.

Leo breathed out deeply, like all this entertaining wore him out. "Okay, that's it."

She cocked her head, looking disappointed. "Really?"

"No more food-related pick-up lines for you, _mi reina_. Sorry."

She took another spoonful of dessert but said nothing.

"Okay, one last one," Leo said in a rush, grinning.

Reyna put up her hand so she could swallow. "I knew it." She smiled and waited.

"Girl," Leo began dramatically, "I know milk does a body good, but damn, how much have you been drinking?"

That, for some reason, did the trick. Reyna laughed, threw back her head and laughed, bending her knees to absorb the weight of it. Leo grinned as he watched her slide down the wall.

After a moment she straightened again, but she had to wipe her eyes, and the smile was still all over her face. "That was a really terrible one," she said, setting her ice cream aside.

"I know." Leo just kept grinning.

"Oh my gods," she sighed. "Bad jokes are severely underrated."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, slapping himself in the chest like he was in pain. "My jokes are always good!"

"They're something," she said, echoing her words earlier, but she looked him over warmly.

Looking back at her, Leo wore the same dreamy expression from earlier. It was a little pathetic, but neither of them seemed to mind.

Reyna leaned her head back and kicked her heel against the wall she was leaning on. "So, Valdez, you have any more come-ons for me? I'm getting bored here." The lazy smile on her face begged to differ.

Leo pretended to think about it. "Well, it's not one of my better ones."

"Try me."

He laughed a little, suddenly nervous. "Hershey factories make millions of kisses a day," he said, tugging on his suspenders and getting off his wall to lean toward her, "but I'm only asking for one."

Cocking her head, Reyna shrugged. "I do like kisses," she said, not clarifying which kind she meant, so the clumsy repair boy hung back until she placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him in.

After a moment, Leo pulled back, his smile somehow looking more honestly happy than ever. Like he needed to make sure she knew it, he said, just loud enough to hear, "_Eres más que sólo un maniquí a mí_," and Reyna kissed him again.

_You are more than just a mannequin to me_.

And then Jason left, because for the first time, he actually believed it.

* * *

_A/N: I love love love reviews, just as an FYI. Also, this is just a oneshot, but I do have a longer ongoing Leyna fic called "Meeting Leo" that y'all are welcome to read and follow si quiereis._

Also also, credit where credit's due. This fic was inspired by these song lyrics (even though it's not a songfic):

_You and I fell apart like a rag doll, torn at the seams_

_Then he came in, stitched up the pieces like some kind of hero_

_I bet it was easy to act like a damsel in distress_

_I guess you got what you wanted_

_He'll pick you up just to knock you down_

_One day I'll see you both in hell_

_Is it everything you thought it'd be?_

_When he's lying there I bet you think of me_

_I swear he'll only dress you up_

_Go out just to show you off_

_Girl, I don't know what you see_

_You're more than just a mannequin to me_

-"Mannequin" by The Summer Set


End file.
